New Zealand's former woman PM: Margaret Thatcher set the tone for women in politics

Helen Clark, New Zealand's Prime Minister for nine years, developed a
reputation for being "no-nonsense" and "strong" at the
top, something she shares in common with Britain's only female PM Margaret
Thatcher. She gives Louisa Peacock a masterclass on how women can
survive the cut throat world of politics

Margaret Thatcher's 'iron will' and strength of character is to be commended, says Helen Clark, although the former New Zealand PM doesn't agree with her politics.

Helen Clark,the former prime minister of New Zealand, is getting ready to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos. "It's the same story every year," she laughs. "Under 20 per cent of the people going are women." Actually the figure is closer to 15 per cent, I inform her, to which she rolls her eyes.

The lack of women attending the world leaders' summit is not something that surprises Clark, however, who is used to being one of the few women around in her professional life. She was the second female prime minister of New Zealand, elected in 1999, and held the top spot for nine years. In 2009, she became the United Nations Development Programme's first female head and is now in her second four-year term.

What does surprise Clark, who is ranked the21st most powerful woman in the worldby Forbes, is why more women aren't invited to the annual event in Switzerland. "Often the response from people who organise these events is that they cannot find enough women. If you look you can find them, they exist," she says.

The straight-talking Kiwi is visiting the UK for a few days before flying to Davos, and is speaking to me just before delivering the annualWomen of the Yearlecture at the Royal Institution of Great Britain. As well as fielding questions on a wide range of world affairs topics, from eradicating poverty and dealing with the fallout from warzones to the "distressing" situation in Nigeria, where gay marriage has just been made illegal, Clark speaks openly during her lecture about her journey to the top in politics.

Perhaps surprisingly, given what happened to her peer Julia Gillard over in Australia, the 63 year-old said she never experienced any sexism or unfavourable treatment due to her gender while she was party leader in New Zealand. "Once you're at the top, everyone wants to knock you off, but not because you're a woman," she quips.

Funnily enough, she doesn't count the car bumper stickers in her country which said "ditch the bitch" towards the end of her nine-year term as PM as 'sexism'. "You can't go on being endlessly re-elected, people get bored. Unfortunately, politics has become a bit like a consumer commodity – like toothpaste – people say they want something different," she explains. "The bumper sticker was charming, but when people are looking for any excuse [to end your term] ..." she trails.

In her early days trying to get elected as an MP, however, Clark experienced her fair share of prejudice, including being told that the seat she was running for was a "working man's seat". Her early career, she recalls, was laced with "petty criticisms" including that people didn't like her hair, the colour of her jacket or the tone of her voice – insults that arguably would not be directed at male politicians.

Still, it's a far cry from the downright misogyny andsexism faced by Gillard – including, among other things, when she was compared to a Kentucky Fried Quail with "small breasts and huge thighs" on an opposition fundraiser menu. It is well-accepted that Gillard, who attacked the level of misogyny she faced in a candid speech, was eventually ousted by sexism.

'Insufferable attacks'

Clark says: "Some of the attacks against Julia were very vitriolic to a level I don't believe we’ve seen of a male politician in Australia. It was very, very, very tough. She did have quite insufferable attacks on her."

However, Clark says the way in which Julia came into leadership – by ousting Kevin Rudd from the top spot – had a long-term consequence. "She displaced the serving prime minister and in a sense that came around again," she says. "In Julia's case, she won an election narrowly but the politics was very tough. That started long term speculation as to whether she could survive and that can be extremely debilitating, these long drawn out battles."

It is a strange twist of fate that I meet Clark just as news is breaking in the UK thatLord Rennard, the disgraced Liberal Democrat peer, has been suspended from the party after alleged sexual harassment. Lord Rennard denies any wrong doing. But, if sexism was rife in Australia and was partly responsible for the demise of Gillard, what does the former PM of New Zealand make of alleged sexism within British politics?

Lord Rennard

"The Lib Dems have had to deal with [the allegations] because there have been very prominent people in the party saying this [alleged] behaviour cannot be tolerated.

"It's a sign of passage from one generation to the next. In the past, women put up with a lot – groping, pinching bottoms – it's not acceptable in the 21st century. For heaven's sake, this is not tolerable, so in the end something had to be done."

When I ask, what, exactly, needs to be done, Clark breathes a huge sigh. "I haven't followed the ins and outs of the Lord Rennard allegations but the party has set up another inquiry, so that's due process."

She also has advice for any women who experience sexual harassment in a work situation. "Deal with it immediately, even it means making an issue, even if that involves being in front of other people. Deal with him immediately: ask him to take his hand away, or whatever. A young woman shouldn't have to put up with any of that, and frankly, if you did put with that to get a position it's not worth it. Women have to be change agents. This is not acceptable and women must take a stand."

Staying strong

One of the reasons Clark avoided sexist treatment, she presumes, is because she became known as being "strong" and somebody not to mess with. "The media formed a view of me that I was pretty strong, so it would be a brave person who is going to question a decision I made, I didn't muck around."

'Strong': Helen Clark as PM

Being strong and sticking to your will – "you have to make a decision and implement it, you don't then wobble on that decision, you get on with it" – is a trait Clark shares with Britain's only female Prime Minister to date, Margaret Thatcher. Does Clark see similarities in her own leadership style with the Iron Lady?

"Obviously her politics would not appeal to me at all, but you recognise she had this iron will. She had a tremendous strength of character.

"I had a very clear idea where I wanted to go, but I probably took more advice than Thatcher on some things. I was more consultative, but I always say don't consult to the point of paralysis of decision. I love the Meryl Streep film [The Iron Lady], I think it brought some of that 'my way or the highway' out, perhaps a little more consultation would have been good."

Clark has become very good at taking the emotion out of decision making, but she's always remained true to herself, adding that she doesn't believe you have to "act like a man" to get ahead in politics.

'My way or the highway': Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady

She also shares some rare insight into what it's actually like being a prime minister. "There's a lot of responsibility, far more so than you think, you've always got weight on your shoulders. You don't want to let your party down, you don't want to let you country down either. You've got to be prepared to put the hours in. When I left, I was so tired, exhausted. At the time you keep going, because adrenalin kicks in and you have a new issue to deal with. It's very physically demanding, you have to keep on top of it."

One of the toughest parts of being a leader is dealing with party politicians who say "incredibly silly things – as we know opening newspapers every day", to firing staff. "I've sacked ministers, you can't just let people walk all over you."

The young Helen Clark

However, when Clark was young, she had no plan whatsoever to get into politics, let alone become Prime Minister. She grew up in rural New Zealand, on a farm ran by her father.

"I wouldn't dream of become PM," she laughs. "When I was a small child, I wouldn't have had a clue who the prime minister was because there was no TV. Radio was something your father would listen to at night when he'd come in from running the farm. He relaxed, read a paper, turned on the radio at night. But we had no insight as children, there was nothing to interest me in politics."

It wasn't until Clark went to an all-girls secondary school, aged 13, and in November 1963, heard the international news that President Kennedy had been shot, that her appetite in politics was awoken. Other international events that got her interested in world affairs included the Vietnam War – "just what was New Zealand doing out there?" - to apartheid.

Helen Clark announces a general election in 2008. She did not survive a fourth term

These days, children have far greater access to world events and what's going on, through social media and the internet, that "children are much more aware", she says. This provides good opportunities for more girls and women to get into politics, in ways that would not have been possible in Clark's day.

However, Clark expresses concern that there are still "structural" problems in the labour market which prevent women progressing in their career as quickly as men would.

"There are structural issues, like who cares for children. It's seemingly more possible for men to go from outside the circle to becoming a member of parliament, than for a woman, because of childcare and other family responsibilities," she says.

Although "many women do overcome the structural restraints", she says: "The elephant in the room for women's progression is childcare."

Her advice for women looking to join politics, as an MP or campaigner, is to be prepared to start at the bottom and work your way up. "You need to be someone who's going to do the donkey work," she says.

I get the feeling that although Clark worked her way up to become PM for nine years – a huge achievement for the farmer's daughter from rural New Zealand – she never once took it for granted. I ask her whether she ever had moments, for example, of looking in the mirror and saying to herself, 'check me out, I'm the PM'. She laughs but quickly talks about all the things she was responsible for and the 'burden' that brought, rather than being able to rest on her laurels.

Politics is "not for the faint hearted," she says, adding that anyone who goes into it must make sure it's fundamentally what they want to do in life. "You've got to work out your priorities," she says.

The woman who is currently leads the United Nations Development Programme knows what she wants out of life and her career. It is this strong will and determination that has served her well – and ultimately sets her up to make the best, objective, non-emotional decisions on world matters at events like Davos.

The world could do with more Helen Clarks, but until that day comes, she is still in prime position to take the lead – and show us how it's done.